A gazetteer is a list and description of places. It can be used to locate the places where your family lived. Gazetteers describe towns and villages, sizes of population, rivers and mountains, and other geographical features. They usually include only the names of places that existed at the time the gazetteer was published. The place names are generally listed in alphabetical order, similar to a dictionary.

Modern Place Names

Place Names in the FamilySearch Catalog

Places are listed by their modern names and boundaries. The catalog includes only places for which the library has records.

Other Sources of Place InformationFor more comprehensive information, see:

Bullinger's Postal and Shippers Guide for the United States & Canada, Annual. Westwood, New Jersey: Bullinger's Guides, 1871-. (FHL book 970 E8b; 1961 edition on film 1320793 Item 7.) It is available at most large libraries.

Other helpful books or records are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

Abate, Frank R., editor. American Places Dictionary: A Guide to 45,000 Populated Places, Natural Features, and Other Places in the United States. Four Volumes. Detroit, Michigan: Omnigraphics, 1994. (Family History Library book 973 E5a.)

Historical Place Names

Because names and boundaries of some places have changed or no longer exist, you may need to use sources that describe places as they were known earlier. An example of a national gazetteer that identifies places in the United States as of 1884 is:

de Colange, Leo. The National Gazetteer. London, England: Hamilton, Adams, and Company, 1884. (Family History Library book 973 E5c; film 845264; fiche 6046725.)

How did your migrating ancestor find the correct destination out West? Quite possibly they had a copy of Brown's book:

Brown, Samuel R. The Western Gazetteer or Emigrant's Directory, Containing a Geographical Description of the Western States and Territories, viz. The States of Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Mississippi: and the Territories of Illinois, Missouri, Alabama, Michigan, and North-Western. Auburn, N.Y.: H.C. Southwick, 1817. Digital versions at NIU Library Digitization Projects and World Vital Records ($).

These sources are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under UNITED STATES - GAZETTEERS. Gazetteers and similar guides to place names for most states are listed in the Place Search under [STATE] - GAZETTEERS. For bibliographies of gazetteers see: